Late At Night
by Akari-sama
Summary: The price for love is so high these days...Yamachi, Mira, angst....enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

"Hello? Guys?" I picked through the mess of jungle and concrete, my shoes kicking up puffs of dust as I picked my way gingerly through the wreckage. "Anybody? Hello? Guys! Guys, please answer," I mumbled, hoping someone could hear me, but knowing no one could.  
I guess it was my dumb luck that had spared me from this. I slept in; I had a flu and they insisted- no, Taichi and Takeru- that I stay in bed. I had seen the battle on the horizon, and had gotton there after I saw the mushroom cloud go up. Garurumon set me down on the edge of the war-torn ground, and waited while I picked my way through the debris. Suddenly, I saw a dirty brown glove under a pile of rubble. I whistled sharply. "Garurumon! I found someone!"  
The large wolf trotted over to me, stopping with a soft thud next to me. "Who is it, Yamato?" he asked me, and I struggled to lift the cinder off the body.   
"No clue," I struggled for breath and against the tears swelling up in my throat. "Gimme a hand, would ya?" Garurumon put his giant paw under the block and lifted it away, letting it crash onto another pile of broken tile and cement. "Careful," I scolded him. "We don't want anyone else hurt!" He hung his head and whispered, "Sorry." I gently wiped the dust off of the shirt of the body in question, and saw a blue tee-shirt.  
"Shit," I moaned. He swung his large head around to me. "What's wrong, Yamato?"  
"Look," I choked out, and I heard Garurumon growl. "Taichi…"  
Taichi lay before me, dirty and bleeding. His goggles were cracked, and blood tangled his hair on his forehead. I strained to pull his torso up without hurting him. "Taichi…Taichi…Taichi? Can you hear me? Taichi! Taichi!" I started crying. "C'mon, Taichi, wake up. Please! Please, Taichi, please…"  
A noise behind me caused Garurumon to whirl around and open his mouth protectively. I heard his voice become relived. "Sora!" I heard a feeble laugh and Garuramon scooped someone onto his neck. I turned around, still holding onto Taichi. "Sora! What happened here? Where are the others?" She slid down onto the ground next to me and looked at Taichi, then looked away, her short hair brushing her face.  
"Jesus, Yamato…where do I start? We had left you at camp…  
*Flashback*  
"Hey, guys, what is that?" Taichi called back to us. We'd been gone for an hour from camp, and we were getting a little hungry. Well, Mimi was. Anyways, Taichi stopped us. It was really hot, the sun had broken over our cover of trees, and we could see some sort of structure ahead of us. We were all baking. I remember because Biyomon was acting really strange, whining about her being frightened. I had just told her to relax for the third time when I heard Koushiro yell, "Taichi, behind you!" and then Taichi was knocked off his feet by this evil-looking thing that kinda looked like the Wicked Witch of the West and Pamela Anderson mixed. Koushiro whipped out his little Poke-dex thing, and he started babbling about whom it was. The only thing I really caught was "LadyDevimon", and then I got knocked out."  
*End Flashback*  
"Whoa…Sora, we hafta find the others before that digimon gets back here!" I said, panic in my voice. She nodded in her agreement. "Yeah, we do, Yamato. Biyomon is in my backpack…" she dug the bird-like digimon out of the worn pack. The pink Digimon yawned and said, "What's wrong?"  
Sora shook her head. "You're impossible, Biyomon. Now digivolve into Birdramon, and help us find the others!" Johanmon made a face and mumbled, "Sure thing!…Biyomon digivolve to… Birdramon!" A large red bird stood before us. Sora shook her head. "Thank god you can still do that!"  
Birdramon snorted and narrowed her eyes. Sora sighed and gracefully leapt onto the bird's back. "C'mon, let's go find our friends, you," and the pair flew off in the opposite direction.   
"Do you think they'll find anything?"  
"I donno, Yamato, but I hope so." I looked down at Taichi.  
"Hold on, baby...."  
Garurumon and I were still trying to wake Taichi up when Sora got back- we had found Agumon in the process, but he had become a nervous wreck when he saw Taichi, so I put him in my bag and hoped for the best. And they say Takeru's the Child Of Hope. Sora and Birdramon glided up, and teetering precariously before Sora, balanced on her lap, was Mimi and Palmon. Koushiro flew beside her on his champion digimon, Takeru hanging onto him, Tokomon perched on top of his head. I waved to the crew, and Sora and Koushiro brought their digimon to a halt before us.  
"That's everyone, yeah?" Sora said, but Koushiro shook his head.   
"No. We still have to find Jyou!"  
"Jyou! Where's Jyou? Is he alright?" Sora leapt down from Birdramon's back and looked around frantically. Koushiro laid a hand on her shoulder. "Easy, Sora. No need worrying, I bet he's in this mess somewhere…he never was smart."  
"Yeah, since when do you have the crest of PESSIMISM, Koushiro!" Takeru yelled, punching Koushiro and catching him off-guard. Koushiro flushed and sputtered indignantly. "What was that for, you little-"  
"Don't you ever say that about Jyou again!" Takeru yelled angrily, swinging. I stepped between them.  
"Guys! Guys, stop it! I said, stop!" I screamed at the two. "Instead of arguing you could be finding Jyou right now! He's fine, I'm sure that the reason Gomamon is like this is because he probably digivolve to help Jyou-"  
"Yamato!" Sora started, but I silenced her.  
"I'm the carrier of friendship, but this really isn't my job to remind you! But if you hadn't been so caught up in worrying about Jyou, I bet you'd have noticed he's right over there!" I waved wildly behind their shoulders. The reason that I have to tell you think is that while Jyou will be awake in less then an hour, Courage is nowhere to be found and all you can think about is Reliability! The reason Taichi has courage is because she doesn't ever stop! But look around! Where is he, huh? Jyou is safe, but where is Taichi? Why am I having to tell you this, h'm? Do you know! Well, do you know?" I yelled, my voice getting hoarse. I glared around at the kids before me. "Koushiro? Takeru? And Hikari! Do you know where your brother is! Do you! Why should I be telling you this, I carry friendship! Friendship, for god's sake! Not...Oh dammit, just look at Taichi! Are you so blind as to see that? So tell me, where's courage!"  
"Yamato," someone mumbled. I turned on Koushiro.  
"NO!" I hollered in his face. "Can't you see, you stupid…stupid…stupid…so stupid…why do you have knowledge, you're so…."  
"Yamato, what are you talking about?" Takeru asked me, genuinely concerned. I looked up with him, tears streaking my face.  
"Taichi's…he's…. Taichi's dead!" I cried, and crumpled into a little ball on the ground. There was shocked, stifled silence around me. No one seemed to know what to do. 


	2. Chapter 2

WARNING! This chapter includes obsene languages, depression, and severe medical disorders...not for little ones!  
  
"Yamato..."Sora leaned forward to touch my shoulder, but I jerked away. She removed her hand, as I began to twitch uncontrollably.  
I slammed into the ground, my body shakeing and jerking. I felt my eyes roll into the back of and whimpers my head, and my mouth opened, uttering incoherent moans  
and whimpers. I heard Sora scream, Takeru shout, and the voice of Jyou calling above the fray of it all, "...my god, he's having a seizure! A fucking, bloody seizure!" Another scream, higher-pitched, and a thump as Mimi reeled back into Sora, crying.  
"Guys, what's going on!?" I tried to scream, but the words didn't come out of my mouth. A gurgle emminated instead, and warm liquid gushed up my throat and dribbled down my chin. I wanted to know what that was, though I had a feeling it was either my lunch or a bodily fluid that's not supossed to come out there.  
"Oh dear lord..." Jyou moaned, and arms were under my armpits, heaving me to my knees. "He's going into shock!" The words were strangly muffled, like I was underwater.  
I bucked forward onto my knees, vomiting what I now knew, in some subconcious resovoir, was blood- the think, dark blood that comes from your liver and stomach, almost black- and it spattered into the ground. I could take it no longer, and I gave up the fight and reeled into the welcome blackness.  
***  
I woke to someone smacking my cheeks rather hard. Little wet drops were falling on my face. I slowly opened my eyes. "Oh-huh?"  
The red-haired girl stared down at me.  
"Yamato! Do you know-" she held a fist over her mouth, choking back a sob. She tried again, her voice failing some. "We've been so worried about you. We've taken Taichi back to camp. The Dark Mistress- the girl who- attacked us, left this for you."  
Hand shaking, she shoved a note into my hands. "Yamato" was calligraphed neatly on the folded front.  
"From- from..." I coulnd't bring myself to say it.  
"LadyDevimon....?" Sora said said quietly. I nodded.  
"Yes, her. But why?" I tried to hold back a sob.  
"Oh Yamato...it's so awful...I just can't bear it!" She threw her arms about my neck. "Here...here, just read it, I can't bring myself to say it." She buried her face in her hands.  
I shook the letter open, and read:  
"Yamato, carrier of Friendship-  
'I know that you love the carrier of Courage, name of Taichi. Now, because I'm a nice Digimon, I'm willing to let him go.'  
I sucked in my breath, daring to believe it.  
'However, there is a price.'  
My heart sank.  
'I would rather have another Digi-Destined then Courage, for he is of little use to me. There are three of you seven that would be valuable to me, and I'm willing to let you choose.  
'First, I would love to get my hands on Love. She's a caring girl, and I could use her to look after my child.  
'Secondly, Hope. He's such a bright little ray of sunshine, and he'd be a good companion for my little son, ChibiDevimon.  
'And I know that as Friendship it will be impossible to choose. So I leave you my final request, and you last choice.  
'Carrier of Friendship, I would be happy to release Taichi Yagami, carrier of coruage, in exchange for you.  
'Signed,  
LadyDevimon'  
I shuddered, and for a minute I was afraid I would have another seizure. I couldn't help from shakeing. Sora looked up, rust-coloured eyes redder then usual from crying.  
"What're we gonna do, Yama?" she whispered, terrified, and for the first time in my life I was left speechless.  
God how I wish I knew the answer. God how I wish I knew. 


End file.
